TSC Bachelor of Education: The Teachers Service Commission on Tuesday appeared to have changed position on the abolishing of the Bachelor of Education degree.
While speaking during the release of the KCPE 2020 placement results, TSC chief executive officer Nancy Macharia said that it was not the TSC’s job to determine which degrees were suitable and unsuitable. This was contrary to a recent position from the commission that the Bachelor of Education degree would no longer be a requirement for teachers seeking employment.
“TSC’s mandate is limited to reviewing and advising on standards of education and training of persons entering the teaching service,” Ms. Macharia said.
In May 2021, the TSC said that it was making plans that will see the Bachelor of Education degree banned from its list of acceptable degrees. In its place, the commission will have teachers pursue regular arts or sciences degrees. After graduation, these teachers will then take on a post-graduate diploma in order to qualify for registration as teachers in Kenya.
Under the proposal, secondary school graduates who qualify to join university will do basic degrees in either science or arts before proceeding for a one-year postgraduate diploma training. The TSC would then enroll them as teachers after successful completion of the postgraduate diploma.
The government, in what appeared to have been borrowed heavily from the training of advocates, will establish the Kenya School of Education to offer final exams and certification to trainees joining the teaching profession. The five years would be divided into two tiers. The students will first be required to complete a bachelor’s degree in either science or arts in two subjects they wish to teach.
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Education experts now say the proposed policy is not being advanced because the Education degree is no longer marketable, but to professionalize and regulate secondary school teacher training. The B.Ed was introduced in Kenyan universities in 1972.